Messages

226

Stage Management: Other / Re: Beauty Pageants

« on: Nov 14, 2006, 08:27 am »

I have been on the edges of pageant productions, and have worked a few tours heavy with promoters and producers. My general take on these people is that they are just full of kiss-kiss "you look FAAbulous" bull - and most of the performers eat it up. Unfortunately, the only way they know how to get anywhere is through the alternate use of flattery and hissy fits. And while this can persuade a diva to perform her best, it will not persuade the TD to ignore the fact that there isn't a tech rider. I had to tell a PM that his full stage drop (ordered last minute by them and shipped FedEx straight to the theatre) was actually a 10x20 piece-o-junk. He just gushed about how beautiful the fabric color was. And then we cut it from the show. These are people who might be quite talented (in the performance sense, not the business sense) and really love what they do. But as a  big, general rule of thumb, they tend to be ignorant of most of the actual work that goes into getting a show onstage. So they will never come close to appreciating what you do, and since they'll never understand your needs (a script? a rehearsal schedule? why do you need those?), you'll have to fend entirely for yourself. But, if you can hang on for the ride, working under such superficial chaos can be kinda fun. Maybe once a year or so.

227

Employment / Re: Touring

« on: Nov 14, 2006, 08:08 am »

Isn't Broadway Across America just a production/promo company? I think that any show that is presented by BAA is staffed independently, wherever the touring company is based. But that's just my understanding. There is a difference between the presenting organization and the production being presented.

228

Stage Management: Other / Re: Opera Staff

« on: Nov 08, 2006, 06:21 am »

There are two different "AD" positions in opera: Assistant Director and Assistant to the Director. You usually won't find either at anything under a level 2 (or B) house. That is, it needs to be a somewhat large and well-funded company in order to even entertain such a position. But at larger houses, yes it is fairly common to have an AD on a production. And the difference can be subtle but profound - an Asst. Dir. is usually an AGMA contract, and takes blocking notes, runs rehearsals, and works extremely closely with the director on the show. The assistant to the director might be more of a personal assistant, and is not on an AGMA contract. But Assistants to the Dir. might also do things like take blocking, run side rehearsals, give notes, etc. It really varies company to company, show to show, director to director. As always, either position ultimately answers to upper management (the General and Artistic Directors, in that order). But their main duty is to the director, and they work primarily to promote and help execute the director's vision. Of course they also work alongside the PSM and follow all applicable union regulations.

Usually, the opera company will only list the AD in a program, not on the website or anything, so you'd usually have to see the show or ask around to learn if an AD worked on this show. Generally ADs get their jobs because they know someone - either a director who likes working with them or a manager at the opera house who knows and likes their directing work. And because the position is used at larger houses, they all search nationally for their ADs (no need really to hire someone from the hometown). So competition can be tough. If you're sending out resumes for a position like this, I would definitely recommend that you include videos of your work and letters of recommendation from the best opera stage directors you know.

As for resumes and cover letters, see the many posts elsewhere on this site (usually there are separate discussions about either) - especially in the Employment forum.

229

Employment / Re: Political Campaigns/touring

« on: Nov 07, 2006, 12:53 pm »

This is a great question!
And I'm afraid I don't know the answer.

You'd probably work with the communications department of the campaign staff alongside the candidate's press secretary. It would seem to me that experience working with television crews and even journalists (originally known to us in the form of theatre reviewers) would be extremely useful. Just to show that you can anticipate the needs of those providing coverage to ensure that your candidate gets optimal coverage.

Who knows - some local politicians might not even know that they need a stage manager on their team. But maybe if you can demonstrate your event/concert SM experience and show them your excellent organizational skills, they might come to their senses. Perhaps some pounding of the proverbial pavement could help you corner the market on this arena of SMing. Good luck!

230

Employment / Re: summer jobs.

« on: Nov 07, 2006, 10:42 am »

If your other plans for the summer have you rooted in one place (you already have a "real" job or have to stay with family, etc), I've had great success just calling up local theatres and asking how I can get involved. It's not as common to actually get work as an SM this way, but there's always phones to answer, filing to be done, and other lackey chores to undertake. Most theatres will jump at the chance, and even turn over a large amount of responsibility to you surprisingly quickly. And working in a theatre office is excellent experience to understand the business of theatre. If you're stuck at home and desperate for some drama-love, just call someone up. Sometimes getting involved is just that easy. (Note: getting a job is rarely that easy, however.)

231

Employment / Re: just resigned :(

« on: Oct 31, 2006, 08:46 am »

I'm so sorry that you're going through this! It sounds like you smartly removed yourself from a bad employment situation - and good for you. This is a dificult choice to make, and comes with lots of mixed emotions. You'll probably doubt your action for a while. But I'm sure you gave a lot of thought to this decision, and didn't just huff out the door spontaneously one day. It's like dumping a bad boy/girlfriend - you love them and might miss them, but you decided over time that the relationship was bad enough to call it all off. It will take a while to get over. Let yourself be sad/bored/angry, but also celebrate your liberation. You were the smart mouse that got off the ship before it sank.

Now, about this lousy boss... First, I would wonder what kind of conversations are actually happening in which she is blacklisting you to other companies. It is extremely unusual for Big Cheese to call up Impressive Boss and say "hey, by the way, this Stage Manager is a horrible person and bad worker and you should never hire them," and Impressive Boss says, "oh, gosh, OK." Usually, when someone tries to speak against another professional, it reflects badly on the speaker and really doesn't affect the reputation of the worker in question at all. I know, opera is a small field in which everybody seems to know everybody. But it is also filled with plenty of executive drama and staff turnover turmoil. This too shall pass. Keep a high profile so people can see you are not ashamed and not afraid of the rumours being spread by Nasty Boss. Keep going after jobs, and take a small show or anything where you can show off your mad SM skills to remind yourself that you rock at what you do. Are you considering moving/travelling/touring for more opera SM gigs? If the boss is making it really hard to continue in your town, you truly might need to move to nurture your career in a different climate.

You'll get through this, and they'll be sorry to have lost you. I promise!

232

Employment / Re: reworking resume

« on: Oct 31, 2006, 08:35 am »

I absolutely agree with nmno - list your best credits first. A hiring PM is usually so swamped with resumes, that they might only read the first few lines. If you don't catch their eye, they move on to the next one. So be impressive right at the top of the page!

But as for your overall ogranization, this really depends on what job you're applying for. If you are trying to get quite specific work (concerts, opera, etc.), I would list your credits by category (plays, musicals and opera, events & concerts, etc) to show your diversity. You generally can't go wrong listing shows chronologically starting with the most recent - or even future - engagements first. If you don't have a lot of experience or have mostly small or school shows under your belt, you could do your best to list biggest/most impressive shows first, regardless of chronology or your position. It's my opinion that listing shows by your position (PSM shows, ASM shows, PA shows, Other tech, etc) is the weakest way to show your experience. But do always list the position you held when you list the show - this is essential information.

You should definitely check out the resume browser on this site to see how other SMs of all areas and levels of expertise arrange their credits for the most success.

233

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Diva Musical Directors

« on: Oct 13, 2006, 08:58 am »

Yes, I've seen silly stuff like this. I've also seen the real opera diva lock herself in her dressing room at intermission and it took the Maestro, the artistic director of the company, and her agent (pulled from the audience) to convince her to come back onstage and finish the opera. At this point, it's really just silly. The opening-night diva sabotage is really childish. There is an SM who works with some of the theatres I have worked with who walks of nearly every show a few weeks into rehearsal. Sometimes she gets to tech and walks then. I've taken over at least three shows that she's started, but I've never met her. She takes the book and won't return phone calls for weeks at a time. One theatre was seriously worried that she had been harmed or something. But she was just pitching a fit. And this from a stage manager! I also work with a sound stagehand (IATSE!) who walks off every show. Every last one. He'll skip a day of work and then be back. He just can't handle a day when he doesn't get his way. The first few shows I worked with him as PM, it made me frustrated. Now I just expect it, and once he's "quit" once, I know we can move on.

Everyone likes to be appreciated and feel that they are essential to a show. It's unfortunate that when some people don't feel enough love, they'll huff and puff and then leave the team high and dry. It's absoultely the most immature way to get the affection and attention they seek. But it does leave us survivors with good stories...

234

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Actor Calls

« on: Oct 13, 2006, 08:50 am »

I give calls depending on the theatre I'm working in. One I work in often is an old vaudeville house with eight floors of dressing rooms (only three tiny rooms per floor) accessed by a pill-size hand-crank elevator, complete with elevator operator. So I give 10-minute warnings and 5-minute calls here, and ASMs work diligently to make sure people are in attendance when they're called to the stage. One theatre I just worked in for the first time had the one dressing room right next to the stage, so a five minute call was just silly. I gave 2-minute calls to everyone, and was sure to announce this to the cast so they would realize they couldn't dawdle. If I know that someone is a little slow at getting themselves to the stage, I'll hedge their call up a little, but still announce it as "5-minutes" or whatever. (Oops- now my secret's out!)

235

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Musicals with lots of dancing.

« on: Oct 13, 2006, 08:43 am »

If you read music, I divide my score where I know there will be dancing into 8-count sections. I label these by letters of the alphabet and separate a section of my blocking notes for dance notation. This way, I'm not jumping back and forth from score to notes to indicate where things happen. In most musicals and dance, it's easy to rely on the 8-count divisions. Even if you don't read music, you can jot down however many sections of 8-counts you might need by listening to a recording (be sure it's uncut!) or talking with the choreographer.

236

Employment / Re: Interviewing at a University

« on: Oct 13, 2006, 08:37 am »

Check out some of the other posts in this forum on interviews. They're full of great tips, like what to bring, what to wear, and what to say. These are not university-specific, but I think you'll find them helpful and informative.
Cheers!

237

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: How to keep kids *quietly* busy at rehearsal when they're not needed onstage?

« on: Oct 04, 2006, 01:58 pm »

I have great success keeping kids busy with theatre-related activities.
- Stretching is great. You can probably get away with one session every 40-minutes, or take a few minutes before the kids will go on to stretch and focus. This lets them move their bodies and release a bit of controlled energy.
- If the show calls for confetti, special letters or other paper props that are destroyed nightly, or anything like that, you can have the kids work on the chore of tearing paper or scribbling fake letters. These easy tasks are useful and make the kids feel like they are contributing to the show.
- If there are dancers in the show, you can play "mirror" games once a night. The dancer makes movements and the kids try to repeat them - all SILENTLY. The kids' awe of the big dancer will keep them quiet. If you have a corps or group of dancers, you can bring in a different one each night. This game can take up as much as 20-minutes of backstage waiting.
- Activity books, coloring books, and scrap paper will keep scribblers happy for hours.
- Sometimes, the best thing to do is just to watch a video.

238

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: ASMs vs SMs

« on: Oct 04, 2006, 01:35 pm »

I ask my ASMs to take blocking, too, and to focus on entrances/exits and "stage pictures" (you know, like when everyone is piled into position) in crowd scenes. If I have several ASMs, I'll ask each to focus on a particular stage side. This gives me a safety net in case I miss something, and lets the ASM know important information in case a performer asks (because what they usually ask about are their entrances/exits). Meanwhile, I try to delegate production duties based on strengths/weaknesses of the SM team. Some prefer the detailed listing of props running; others like the flowcharts of wardrobe tracking. Some are better communicators and others are wonderful at Making It Happen.

After I asked, my last ASM informed me that she did not take blocking as ASM. It just wasn't "how she did it;" She only jotted down entrances and exits. This made her useless when I needed her to walk absent performers through the blocking established in the previous rehearsal. She was not a good ASM. (Please excuse the mini-venting. The moral of the story is: please do what your PSM needs (asks) you to do.)

239

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: hey, need a bit of help

« on: Oct 04, 2006, 01:20 pm »

Instead of thinking of your role as a "boss" or "subordinate", consider the role of Stage Manager that of a facilitator and executor. You work alongside the production team. It's your job to make sure communication occurs across departments, that everyone is thinking ahead and thinking together. You don't necessarily make any artistic or executive decisions - that's up to the director, designers, and producers (and it would be fairly accurate to consider the director and producer your "Bosses"). Once they agree what will happen, you help make it happen. Most SM executive decisions should only be concerning safety. For everything else, go find the person to make the decision - if it's artistic, usually the director; if it's financial, usually the producer. Sometimes, in completing your job of running a rehearsal, you need to act simultaneously as a babysitter, traffic cop, air traffic controller, secretary, and orchestra conductor. The reason people sometimes think of SMs as bossy is because it's part of our job to keep everyone in line and keep rehearsals moving along. But nobody likes a bossy stage manager - it does not make you any better at the job.

I would also recommend that you start making the production analysis for the show. There are other posts on this process on this website, both in this forum and also in the Plays & Musicals forum. Start collecting pre-show tips and reading the books on stage management folks here have recommended - you'll be well on your way to a smooth production process.

240

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Email Nightly SM Reports

« on: Oct 03, 2006, 04:37 pm »

Before the production period begins, I work out with the producer who needs nightly reports and how they should receive them. I let it be known that I am a PC user. When I do send reports via email, I attach my notes as a .doc. For hard copy distribution, I try to find a point person and solicit their help with daily distribution. This has actually worked pretty smoothly for me so far!